


Live and Let the Languid World Die

by C0M1C4L



Category: New Dangan Ronpa V3: Everyone's New Semester of Killing
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Hiatus
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-01-27
Updated: 2018-02-07
Packaged: 2019-03-09 22:16:07
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 4
Words: 7,230
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13490907
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/C0M1C4L/pseuds/C0M1C4L
Summary: Miu does the impossible.She kills Gonta.She can hear Kokichi snickering at her and at the digital corpse of the despair-ridden Gonta, indestructible toilet paper ensnaring his neck. Fuck. She needs to get rid of him, too, or she'll be executed for sure. She makes a move towards him but he dodges her, already aware of the special parameters Miu programmed his avatar with. He laughs harder. "Calm your tits, I won't rat on you.""What the fuck? Why?""Because~ this is way more interesting!"





	1. The Start and Near End

**Author's Note:**

> I haven't seen anything like this so here! :D
> 
> Also, sorry I'm so slow on updating Everybody Loves Gonta!

Miu stares at the portrait propped up in place of the late Gonta. A bloody 'X' obscures part of his face, but she can still recall all of his features as if she’s staring right at his ghost.

 

His corpse looked nothing like that.

 

She’s not thinking of his avatar, limp like a doll in the snow, but of his real corpse. When she logged out it horrified her to see the real-life consequences of her actions. His body was also doll-like, skin unnaturally blue and head hanging off the back of the chair, but the former life it held was undeniable. It was clear just how he was killed by simply looking at his pose, hands clasped around his throat in a weak attempt at resistance against her. His headset was knocked-off so it was easy to see his wide open and lifeless eyes, full of fear but also, Miu thinks, of resignation. Was him clutching his throat not an act of resistance, but of natural survival instincts? Was he... _willing_ to die?

 

She tears her eyes away from her victim’s portrait to the remaining survivors. It’s obvious how much Gonta’s death is affecting them. He was, after all, the kindest out of all of them. He would always swear to protect his friends, cry when one of them passed, and yet still found the strength to be a shoulder to lean on. During the last trial, when Himiko lost two of the most important people to her, Gonta was there to defend her. Now, Himiko is struggling to hold back her tears at the loss of another person she was close to.

 

Kokichi, of course, doesn’t care. He had a hand in his death, after all. She doubts he would lead Gonta to his death just to cry about it later.

 

Kaito is extra hostile to Kokichi, absolutely despising his lack of empathy for the only person who put up with him. It shows in Kaito’s expression whenever Kokichi talks, and he himself is not taking the death well. He must be distraught over the fact that anyone would target someone who wouldn’t fight back. She scoffs. Gonta wasn’t such a pacifist in the virtual world, that’s for sure.

 

Looking at everyone as a whole, she can see both their sorrow and determination. Solely because Gonta is the victim, everyone might work even harder to find the killer. Did she make a mistake? Should she have quit while she was ahead?

 

She can’t think about that right now. She has a trial to win. She’ll have to lie and lie about the Neo World Program, her whereabouts, everything, then she’ll be golden. Although, there’s one problem: another dirty liar. He has the power to take away all of her chances of winning with just a few words, but unluckily for him, everyone hates him even more than they hate her. She can play his game.

 

Speak of the devil, “Kaito was the only one capable of poisoning Gonta, right? He was the only one logged out. Then after, he planted poison on my seat to make it look like _I_ killed him!”

 

Kaito asserts, “There’s no way I poisoned Gonta!”

 

Shuichi agrees, “He’s right, Gonta couldn’t have been killed by poison.” He shows everyone the aforementioned poison bottle, “It states here that it causes subconjunctival hemorrhaging, meaning his eyes would be bloodshot.”

 

Miu curses under her breath. She should have checked the damn label. “So? Kaito could just be _really_ into choking!” She cackles obnoxiously for extra effect.

 

Even more infuriated, Kaito denies, “Absolutely not!” It’s hard to tell if his face is red from anger or embarrassment.

 

“No,” Shuichi says, “it can’t be that either because there is nothing at all to suggest Gonta was killed in the real world.”

 

“Huh?” Himiko asks, “What do you mean by that? He looks pretty real-world dead to me...”

 

He clarifies, “What I mean is, I think Gonta was killed in the Neo World Program. Miu told us that the shock from dying in the virtual world will kill us in real life.” Maybe Miu should have lied about that, too.

 

“So does that mean I’m not a suspect anymore?” Kaito asks.

 

No, it doesn’t. Miu cannot let the person she framed get his name cleared. “Not so fast, astro-nut, you could’ve came at him on the roof and _then_ pulled out!” She enjoys his sputtering, but her amusement is disrupted.

 

“That’s not true.”

 

She sneers, “What the hell are you contradicting me for?”

 

“That’s not true,” Kokichi repeats, “ _I was in the foyer the whole time_. I would have seen Kaito if he tried to log out.”

 

Shuichi says, “The monokuma file states Gonta was murdered at 6:00, well after Kaito had already logged out. Not only that, I found out while investigating the virtual world that it’s possible to log someone else out by saying their name into the phone.” He confidently asserts, “Kaito is not the culprit.” Kaito cheers and pats Shuichi on the back in gratitude, but he hits too hard and hurts him instead.

 

Maki ignores his groans of pain to list, “Shuichi, Kokichi, and Tsumugi are the only ones capable of killing him.”

 

Tsumugi testifies, “I know this won’t help my case at all, but I can vouch for Shuichi never leaving the kitchen.” She rests her head on a palm, “Looks like it’s between me and Kokichi.”

 

“Well, _obviously_ it was Kokichi!” Himiko points an accusatory finger to him, “There’s no way Kokichi stayed in the foyer the whole time! He logged Kaito out then killed Gonta! Or Kaito could be lying, for all we know!”

 

Kaito, concerned for Himiko, gently reassures her, “Himiko, I wouldn’t lie to you all, I promise.”

 

“...” She looks away guiltily. Miu doubts anyone blames her.

 

“How did Kaito log out, then?” Tsumugi asks. “Not only that, Why would Kokichi _need_ to log him out? Couldn’t he have killed Gonta anywhere?”

 

Kiibo hums in concentration. “Regardless of how Kaito exited the virtual world, is he not still capable of planting the poison?”

 

“No way,” Kaito says, “That could’ve been planted at any time and I wouldn’t have noticed it.”

 

“The culprit must have planted it while we were logging in or out, then.” Maki points a glare to Miu, “Miu was the last one to enter. She was also the first to exit the program, isn’t that right?”

 

It’s scary to have Maki stare right at her and ask a question she already knows the answer to. There is no answering yes or no, so Miu dodges the question, “If I were the culprit, I wouldn’t have been dumb enough to use _that_ to frame someone.” She _is_ dumb enough, but they don’t need to know that. She grits her teeth when she hears Kokichi’s snickering. “Anyway, I don’t get why you’re on _my_ ass. If Kaito _is_ lying and Kokichi is _somehow_  telling the truth, Tsumugi’s the only one without a possible alibi!”

 

“I’m not the culprit, I promise! I-wait a minute.” Tsumugi suddenly stops her frantic defense to look directly at Miu, squinting her eyes as if looking for something. Suddenly, her eyes widen and she shouts, “I saw you at the mansion!”

 

She scoffs, “There’s no fucking way you saw me, that’s impossible!” She _hopes_ that’s impossible.

 

The cosplayer becomes hostile, “According to who?”

 

“According to me!”

 

“Hmmm… if Miu could teleport or something, she could go from the chapel right to the roof then back to the chapel again… maybe.”

 

“So?” Miu reasserts, “Tsumugi’s the way more plausible culprit!” Most of them seem convinced by her accusation.

 

Unfortunately, she has an alibi. “No, that can’t be right,” Shuichi counters, “We were together when we heard the banging from the chapel and Kiibo’s voice.”

 

Maki says, “It must have been the hammer. It could have been thrown during the murder.”

 

“But we still don’t really know if the hammer is involved or not. We need to understand how it could get all the way from the roof to the chapel,” Kiibo tells them, “Not only is the distance too great, the side of the chapel the hammer hit was the east side. Miu.” She jolts. “Do you have any explanation for how the hammer could potentially fly from the mansion to the chapel?”

 

“To add on to that,” Shuichi says, “The sign board we used as a bridge ended up at the mansion. That shouldn’t have been possible, considering the river flows from the mansion to the chapel.”

 

“Weeeell,” Miu stalls. Why didn’t she think to account for that? “I didn’t check too much into the physics to make sure there weren’t any errors, so, I’m just guessing, the sign board penetrated the edge of the world so hard the program had to squirt it out somewhere!”

 

“Please don’t talk like that,” Kiibo pleads.

 

Miu continues, “Anyway, it’s probably just a glitch with the edges of the virtual world.” She hopes to whatever god the student council worshiped that they buy that.

 

“Oh, I see, so if the sign board glitched, the hammer could do the same,” Kiibo says, “That’s good, I wasn’t sure if the hammer could be the murder weapon or not. It’s the only thing I could think of.” Miu looks at him with a puzzled expression. He thinks the hammer killed Gonta?

 

“That can’t be it,” Maki says, “He was grabbing for his throat and his skin was blue, he died of strangulation, not blunt force trauma.”

 

“It looked really painful…” Himiko mutters sadly, mostly to herself.

 

Miu adds on, “I don’t get why you’d think it’s the hammer anyway since the toilet paper’s on the roof.” Silence follows her comment. She looks to each condemning face feeling as though she did something wrong, which she most likely did. She cowers and asks, “W-what are you all looking at me for?”

 

“Miu,” Shuichi asks, “ _Why do you think toilet paper killed him?”_

 

“Objects don’t break in the virtual world… remember?” Not realizing her mistake, she continues, “And it was… on the roof?”

 

Kiibo solemnly informs her, “Miu, there was never any toilet paper on the roof.”

 

Shuichi says, “We found it in the bathroom, where it’s always been.”

 

Miu stiffens when she realizes what she’s done.

 

Kokichi laughs obnoxiously at her misfortune. He must have had a hand in this if he’s laughing this hard. “Well, it looks like we found our killer, guys! The only way Miu would know anything about the roof is if she’s the murderer!”

 

Miu looks back to her crime. Kokichi stayed on the roof after she left. That little shit must have put the toilet paper back and she was none the wiser!

 

Tsumugi speaks up, “I’m going to say this again, I saw Miu at the mansion!”

 

”If Miu had something to do with the murder…” Kaito speculates, “ _she_ could have logged me out!”

 

Maki says, “She even planned where everybody searched, so she knew _who_ to log out.”

 

“No, we must not be hasty!” Kiibo begs, “We don’t know _how_ Miu could even log Kaito out without the phone. We also still don’t know the relationship between the toilet paper and the murder, let alone the hammer!”

 

Maki explains as if talking to a child, “The hammer didn’t originate from the mansion, correct? It could only have been brought over and thrown back by the culprit.”

 

“Yeah… and how do we know Miu isn’t lying about the glitching? Those could have been on purpose!” Himiko proclaims.

 

“Sooo~” Kokichi asks, “If they weren’t accidents, how could the hammer have ended up at the chapel, and the signboard at the mansion?”

 

Miu panics, “N-now hold on-“

 

“The signboard went downstream,” Shuichi states, “but we found it upstream. If the sign goes downstream then all the way back upstream, then…” he stops. He closes his eyes to concentrate.

 

Miu is sweating so much she can feel it practically soaking her clothes. She’s grasping for something, anything to use as a diversion. She can’t let them know it’s-


	2. Turnaround

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If anyone’s wondering about my other fix it is not abandoned! I’m just super slow   
> ;-;

“A looping world.”

 

Everybody one by one realizes the implications of Shuichi’s deductions. Miu doesn’t know if she can piece everything back together without Kokichi breaking it all over again. If only she were as good a liar as Kokichi-

 

...

 

She can’t play his game, but she can make another one.

“I lied about the Neo World Program,” she confesses. Everyone gives her grave looks. They think they know for a fact who the culprit is, but they won’t when she’s finished talking. “My plan was to lure everyone into the virtual world, _then kill Kokichi.”_

 

Kiibo looks the most crestfallen at her confession. “Miu, are you admitting that you are the cul-“

 

“I added the wall to the virtual world, planted the poison, logged Kaito out,” she ignores the astronaut’s sputtering, “passed through the wall, and brought the hammer to the mansion. Hell, I even edited Kokichi’s sprite so he’d freeze as soon as I touched him. I was completely ready to _demolish_ him! But before I could,” she abruptly shouts and points violently to Kokichi, “ _he_ took advantage of it and _killed Gonta!”_ She says it with such conviction it’s hard to label her immediately as a liar or not. Most of them stand stock-still, not knowing how to respond to such an accusation. She smirks. Kokichi is someone who hates saying the truth directly, so what is he going to do when he’s forced to?

 

With a blank face, Kokichi says dumbly, “Huh?”

 

Himiko immediately jumps onboard Miu’s accusation, “That’s why you led Gonta away from us at the beginning, right?” She gets so riled up her voice cracks as she yells, “I can’t believe you! You manipulated Gonta again and you killed him!”

 

“Oooh~ So this is the game Miu’s playing. Clever girl! But I’m not going down so easily, ya hear?”

 

Himiko shouts, “What are you talking about? Just admit you killed him already! You had access to the toilet paper and nothing was in the way of you going to the roof! Admit it!” She’s nearly to tears at this point. While they sympathize, not everybody is entirely convinced.

 

“Himiko, shut up,” Maki demands, “Think about it, why would Miu wait until _now_ to tell us this?”

 

Miu answers, “Cuz I didn’t wanna be fuckin’ accused, duh! I abandoned my plan as soon as I saw Gonta on the roof. _Kokichi_ strangled Gonta!”

 

“Incorrect,” Kokichi refutes, “You can’t prove I left the foyer.”

 

“Yeah, but we can’t prove you didn’t, either,” Kaito states.

 

“And? Miu _did_. So did poor, poor, Gonta.”

 

Kaito argues, “But she couldn’t have killed Gonta, she didn’t edit his avatar!”

 

“Exactly!” Miu capitalizes on his claim, “And why the hell would I even need _toilet paper_ to kill Gonta when I had a fricken hammer?"

 

“Then why was it thrown to the chapel?” Maki interrogates.

 

Miu answers, “I’m sure _you_ could relate, Maki, having a murder plan blow up in your face. I threw it without thinking!”

 

Aggravated, Maki demands, “Then how did you know toilet paper was used? If Kokichi had already killed him, then he would’ve put it back.”

 

Miu has to contemplate for a bit. “Kokichi couldn’t get back down before I got there, so I bet that rat hid in the shed or something until I left.”

 

Kiibo, hopeful that Miu isn’t the culprit, says, “So if I’m putting this together correctly, Kokichi knew to go to the roof and had Gonta go there as well. On the way, he grabbed the toilet paper to strangle Gonta with. After, Miu arrived before he could leave, so hid by the shed until she left, and that’s when he put the toilet paper back!”

 

“Heyyyyyy, if Miu can’t kill Gonta, then what makes you think I could with dinky-old toilet paper?” Kokichi whines.

 

“Why does that matter?” Kaito asks.

 

“Didn’t you _just_ say that Miu couldn’t have killed Gonta because she didn’t edit his avatar? Yeesh! You really are dumb.”

 

“You…”

 

“ _Anyway,_ if you all really want to get to the bottom of this, then listen up. It’s true that I figured out the pig’s plan and tried to use it against her. That’s why I sent Gonta to the roof in place of me.” Miu knows he still isn’t telling the whole truth, but can’t say anything to contradict him. “Because he didn’t have the same disadvantage I had, he was able to fight her off, at least a little bit. She lost the hammer, and then she strangled him with toilet paper.”

 

“B-but,” Tsumugi stammers, “If there really was a fight and the hammer was thrown during it, Shuichi and I would have seen her by the time she tried to leave!”

 

Shuichi confirms, “That’s right, and in fact, we saw _you_ at the entrance hall when we went back into the mansion after looking outside for Kiibo. You must have been returning the toilet paper.”

 

Kokichi only gives him a blank look. “So? _Gonta_ was the one who brought the toilet paper. _I sent him_ to the roof so he could _kill_ Miu, and he failed.”

 

The shock doesn’t miss a single student.

 

“EXCUSE YOU?” Himiko shouts with such ire her voice nearly breaks, “How could you even _think_ that we’d believe you? Gonta stopped listening to you after the Insect Meet and Greet, so why would he listen to you when you tell him to _murder?_ You’re unbelievable! You’re sick! And you’re a bully!” She openly sobs, “You can’t just be satisfied that you sent Gonta to his death, can you? You just have to call our friend a murderer too!”

 

“That’s right! Even if he _did_ try to fight Miu, our strengths are equalized in the virtual world, so there’s no way he could last against her hammer!” Kaito boldly claims.

 

“Not unless it’s a sneak attack.”

 

“Wha-Maki?” Kaito stares, shocked, “You don’t... _believe_ Kokichi, do you?”

 

“I hate it as much as you do, but I don’t think Kokichi would risk going to the roof at all if Miu could kill him with a touch. And again, I don’t see why Miu waited so long to tell us.”

 

Shuichi contemplates deeply on the scenarios they have. He says, “Right now, we have two different stories. One is Miu’s, where Kokichi killed Gonta before she got there, and the other is Kokichi’s where Miu decides to kill Gonta instead of him.”

 

Himiko stutters, “Well, o-obviously Miu’s story is the real one, right? Kokichi _always_ lies.”

 

“I find it hard to believe Kokichi as well,” Kiibo states.

 

“Miu has way more power over the virtual world, though,” Tsumugi meekly argues.

 

“Can we not agree on which story is true?” Kiibo asks, “How will we find out which one to believe?”

 

“Whaaaaaat’s this?” Monokuma exclaims, “It sounds like a split opinion! The Ultimate Academy is proud to present its very own morphenomenal trial ground!” The process is familiar to them by now. Everyone’s stands rise and split into two teams. On the team accusing Kokichi is Himiko, Kaito, Kiibo, and Miu face off against  Shuichi, Maki, Tsumugi, and Kokichi.

 

Miu squeezes her fists in anticipation. How she argues can make or break her victory, so she has to think hard. What are the holes in her story? What did she say before? What will Kokichi say to contradict her? She starts with her main argument, “Kokichi killed Gonta before I even got to the roof!”

 

Shuichi counters, “His time frame is too narrow to allow him to get Gonta to the roof and strangle him before you got there.”

 

Kiibo supports Miu’s claim, “Kokichi was the one who returned the toilet paper to the bathroom. He’d _have_ to have gone to the roof!”

 

The liar refutes, “That doesn’t mean I used the toilet paper. You don’t even know if I really had it at all.”

 

“W-well, Gonta can’t have attacked Miu when she had the hammer!” Himiko asserts.

 

“He can if it was an ambush,” Maki states, “That’s how the hammer was thrown.”

 

“If Kokichi is really innocent, he would have tried to prevent a murder than cause one,” Kaito exclaims, “Which is why I’m asking, why didn’t he help Gonta out, huh?”

 

Tsumugi reminds him, “Kokichi can’t do anything to Miu because of his avatar settings, remember?”

 

“All of these useless fucking questions… I would have abandoned my plan as soon as I saw Gonta!”

 

Maki accuses her, “You were forced to target Gonta or you could have planned to kill them both.”

 

When Miu doesn’t hear another argument from her side she frantically looks to them for any kind of help.

 

“So, what you’re telling us is it really _wasn’t_ Kokichi?”

 

“Oh…” Himiko looks down in disappointment.

 

“...” Kiibo says nothing as he already starts accepting that Miu could be a killer.

 

Miu curses, even Kiibo? Suddenly, she feels her podium descend. No, no, no nonono. She kicks at it to no avail. She yells, “This isn’t over!”

 

To her shock, it’s Himiko who snaps, ”Shut up!” Attention turns to her as the podiums return to the ground. “I’m sick of hearing lies all the time! I get enough of it from Kokichi, so can you at least be a little bit more decent than him?”

 

“Yeah, Miu, be the bigger person here,” Kokichi taunts.

 

“You shut up too!”

 

Shuichi sighs. His side won the debate, but he needs to follow through, “Everybody.” Their bickering dies down enough to let him speak, “The thing is, we can’t solve this case by figuring out who is lying and who is telling the truth. What we have to do is put together what we’re being told and eliminate the scenarios that don’t add up.”

 

Miu’s team may have conceded, but she has not. “Oh, come _on_ with your ‘find the truth behind the lies’ bullshit! You _know_ it was Kokichi!”

 

“It can’t have been Kokichi, not according to what I’ve gathered. You are absolutely the culprit,” Shuichi states, “and here’s why: Kokichi _did_ go to the roof.”

 

Miu sputters, “Fucking, duh! That’s what we knew this whole damn time!”

 

“ _Exactly_ ,” Shuichi reasserts, “and because he was there, that is how you were capable of killing Gonta and _getting away with it!”_

 

“W-w-wha-what?!” Miu shrieks, “Do you even hear yourself, ya cucklord?”

 

“Yeah,” Kaito asks, “Are you saying Kokichi _helped_ her?”

 

She jeers, “That fucker never helps anyone!”

 

“Eeeexactly~” Kokichi laughs.

 

Maki glares at him and demands, “Why.”

 

“I just wanted to give Miu a chance…. Just kidding!”

 

Shuichi dismisses his usual antics. “Kokichi’s motives aside, Miu would never have gotten away from the mansion without his help.”

 

Kiibo looks down solemnly. He doesn’t want it to be true, but regardless of what he wants reality will remain the same. “Tell us, then, how did Gonta’s murder really play out?”

 

Shuichi answers. “What happened was Miu’s plan nearly succeeded. She went to the roof, hammer in hand, but she didn’t expect to see Gonta there with Kokichi. He was there in order to protect Kokichi because his avatar was tampered with. During the fight, Miu lost her hammer. I place my bet that Kokichi threw it over the roof when he had the chance.”

 

“So, that’s when...” Himiko mutters.

 

“...Right,” he confirms, “Miu took the toilet paper away from Gonta and strangled him.”

 

“O-or…!” Miu tries to counter, “I gave up and left Gonta and Kokichi on the roof! That’s when Kokichi killed him!”

 

Maki shuts her down, “It’s too late for you to backtrack your statements.”

 

“After, Miu escaped as fast as she could. Kokichi stayed behind to hide the toilet paper back in the bathroom.”

 

Miu growls, “No… no, that’s not right.” How _dare_ they believe Kokichi over her? “There’s no way! You would have seen me at the mansion, you fucking virgin!”

 

“There was a way for you to leave without Tsumugi and I noticing you.”

 

“No there wasn’t! The only way you can get to the roof is through the entrance hall!” She begins to rant, not letting anybody get a word in edgewise. “Do you even hear yourself?” Her face turns red and her shrill voice violates everyone’s eardrums. “Kokichi is the only one it could be!” She turns hysteric and unable to keep her own story straight anymore. “Kokichi threw the hammer way before I could get away, so you would have seen me!” Her skin turns from red to blue from lack of oxygen. “I was out of there when I saw Gonta. _There was no way I could leave the roof!_ ”

 

She shakily inhales the oxygen she neglected. As soon as she is able she restores the look of pure ire on her face. Everybody around her is frozen from having to witness her at her ugliest. She feels like time itself froze… until…


	3. Condemnation

“You used the toilet paper as a climbing rope.”

 

“...What?”

 

“You tied the toilet paper to the telescope to escape our detection. Afterwards Kokichi returned the toilet paper to the bathroom, but you didn’t know it.”

 

She lost. She really _lost._ _She_ lost. She hates it. She hates this… _dejection._ It reminds her too much of before. Before she became an ultimate.

 

When she woke up from her coma, she didn’t see her parents’ tear-stained faces suddenly elate when they see her eyes are open. They simply took her home, asked if she wanted lasagna or pasta for dinner because this time she got to choose. That was fine, it was always like that. Everything was the same. 

 

Except, not really. When she sat down on her desk to reminisce over her doodles of inventions her teachers told her were impractical, impossible, useless  like her , she was suddenly able to make it all work in her head. She worked tirelessly to make what she saw in her head a reality. Then for the first time in forever, she was praised.

 

She remembers everything being easy for her. She could solve problems, build anything, she was a  _ genius _ . It took no time at all for her to be dubbed the Ultimate Inventor. Of course she let that get to her head, it was the greatest thing to be! She was no longer the meek and fearful little girl, she was Miu  _ fucking  _ Iruma! 

 

People didn’t like her. Too brash, rude, vulgar. But Miu liked herself better this way, so she tuned them out. 

 

Screw them! Kaede liked her  even if she tried to change her too and so does Kiibo and-

 

While she was lost in her past everyone was having a conversation without her. They were tying up the final loose ends.

 

She hears Shuichi, “I still don’t understand why Gonta brought the toilet paper to  attack Miu with.”

 

Kaito says regrettably, “Man, that’s still hard to believe.”

 

“So Kokichi is telling the truth that Gonta wanted to kill?” Tears threaten to fall from Himiko’s face again.

 

They all sound so bothered by that specific fact. Why aren’t they wondering why  _ she _ commited murder? Aren’t they going to lose sleep over the death of her, their friend? She’s… a victim, too. She’s a victim of this killing game, like Kaede, Kirumi, and- let’s not go there.  If she remembers correctly he didn’t like her either . 

 

“It’s voting time!”

 

The tablet on her podium lights up. Without even thinking about it she picks herself. What’s the point? She stares blankly at the obnoxious screen showing everyone’s names. The red bar next to her name grows. It shows seven blocks. Wait, seven? She looks around the screen for the missing block and finds it next Kokichi’s name. Who…?

 

She adjusts her eyes and looks to each of her classmates. Maki is indifferent. Himiko is sad, but not for her, obviously… Kiibo? He’s looking straight at her. Dejected. That’s right, he liked her, of course he’d be sad.  _ He’ll _ be losing sleep over her. Something in her chest clenches up. She futilely grasps at it to no avail. How could she have done this? She was so selfish  She was always selfish before that’s what her parents told her that’s why she never asked for anything  she didn’t even think of the person who was closest to her. She didn’t think about the fact that she would have killed him too. A sob escapes from her. 

 

He speaks, “Miu… why…?”

 

She can’t answer him. She can hardly even see him because her eyes are full of tears and no matter how many times she wipes them away new ones appear. Through the distortion of her watery lens she sees his arm reach out to her and then fall back to his side.

 

“You got it right again! The blackened who murdered the Ultimate Entomologist Gonta Gokuhara was none other than the Ultimate Inventor herself, Miu Iruma! Congratulations!”

 

“Neeheehee,“ Kokichi laughs, then with no genuinity bawls, “Oh, just look at us, fighting! This isn’t what Gonta would want. He selflessly tried to protect me and died for it! Waaugh”

 

“Kokichi, stop!” Kiibo pleads. 

 

“Yeah, man! Not cool at all!”

 

Tsumugi demands, “Someone just tape his mouth shut!”

 

Miu can’t stand to hear their bickering anymore. She hiccups.

 

“Don’t just stand there and sob!” yells the hypocritical Himiko, hardly capable of speaking coherently, “W-why did Gonta have to die!”

 

Kiibo tries to calm her down, “We went through this, her plan went awry-”

 

“She shouldn’t have tried it at all!”

 

Miu is so tired of hearing them yell. “I’ll fucking tell you!” she screams. All seven pairs of eyes stare at her. “I wanted to kill Kokichi, but I couldn’t because of Gonta. I had brought the hammer and everything… but when Gonta came up behind me... ”

 

\-----

 

Miu puts a shaky hand to the door handle and turns it. The door opens easily. She sees the back of Kokichi’s avatar looking over the brick walls, unbothered by the cold. The scene of pure white snow fits as a backdrop for him, she thinks. It looks friendly and fun, but in reality it’s cruel to anyone who’s stupid enough not to wear a coat. She hesitantly moves forward, boots crunching the snow. He turns around.

 

“Huh? Kaito’s not here?”

 

She stops in her tracks. “Yeah, y-you’re right.” She can’t control her stutters. She realizes just now how hard it really is to kill someone, even if at the moment they’re just a cute avatar. He’s not breathing, and he’s not going to bleed, so why can’t she just move forward?

 

He says cheerfully, “Oh man, I’m honored you asked me to meet up with you, Miu. Is this a booty call?” Suddenly, the avatar’s face becomes fearful, “Or are you here to kill me?”

 

“S-so you figured it out. But there’s nothing you can do. You… can’t resist me. I made sure of it in your settings.” She can do it! If she could only just move her feet!

 

“Uh-ohhhh! Guess I’m in trouble now!”

 

“I’m sorry, but… you should give up. This is… my only chance. I have no choice but to do this… My inventions will change the world… They’ll make the world a better place! It’s my duty as a genius inventor! S-so I can’t afford to die here…” She finally manages to move her legs. She’s really going to do it. Nothing will stop her.

She takes one step forward when she senses a presence behind her. She turns to find Gonta clutching unraveled toilet paper. “S-SORRY..! GONTA SO SORRY..!” 

 

In a panic she jumps out of the way of his clumsy lunge. She grips the hammer tighter. What is going on? Gonta tries to attack her again but Miu side steps and he stumbles to his knees. He is just as hesitant to kill as her, but, something's different. Without even thinking, she brings the hammer down on him. He moves just enough to avoid a blow to the head, but takes a hit to the shoulder. It takes a flail of his arms to knock it out of her hand and brandish the toilet paper again. Miu estimates the hammer too far away to get without letting either of them flee, so she grabs for the toilet paper. 

 

Normally, it’d be impossible to win a game of strength against Gonta, but here, they’re on equal playing grounds. She manages to strip Gonta of the only weapon he had and turns it around on him. A kick to his knee sends him down, vulnerable. She gets behind him and loops the toilet paper around his neck with no hesitation. He grasps at his neck as Miu pulls tighter, tighter.

 

…

 

“Th...a... kyo-…”

 

…

 

Tighter.

 

...

 

Miu does the impossible.

 

She kills Gonta.

 

She can hear Kokichi snickering at her and at the digital corpse of the despair-ridden Gonta, indestructible toilet paper ensnaring his neck. Fuck. She needs to get rid of him, too, or she'll be executed for sure. She makes a move towards him but he dodges her, already aware of the special parameters Miu programmed his avatar with. He laughs harder. "Calm your tits, I won't rat on you."

 

"What the fuck? Why?"

 

"Because~ this is way more interesting!"

 

“S-so? Do you want to die or something? ‘Cuz that’ll happen either if I kill you here or at the trial... fucknuts.” The insult dies on her lips as she looks around.

 

She hears him say, “So, anyway, I want to play a game~”  but is not actually listening. She frantically searches the roof for her hammer, fearful that he may have it.

 

“Oh, if you’re looking for the hammer, I threw that thing over.” He laughs, “I think I actually threw it hard enough that it reached the chapel through the wall you made.”

 

Miu sputters, “You knew the whole fucking time!? Why the hell did you come here, idiot? Why was  _ Gonta- _ ”

 

...

 

“Holy shit! You bastard!”

 

He shrugs, “Well, I didn’t know about the wall until Gonta saw you, so not really. If this worked, we would’ve made a pretty good team, but wow! You sure showed us, huh?”

 

“Shut the hell up! You-” 

 

“That’s weird, I don’t see Kiibo anywhere.”

 

Kokichi discreetly peeks over the railing. “Oooh, looks like you won’t be getting away with this after all.”

 

“What?!” She runs to the railing to confirm it. Tsumugi and Shuichi are outside looking around. Soon, they’ll realize that Gonta’s not outside either, and eventually search the roof. “Shit!” Should she just kill them all? That way there’s no witnesses. She runs back to Gonta’s avatar to retrieve the toilet paper then stops. The telescope...

 

“That’s when I escaped from the roof.”

 

“So Gonta tried to...” Tsumugi doesn’t finish. “Why?”


	4. To the Foundry

“Why…” A question Miu’s had since the beginning comes to the forefront of her mind again, one that makes her furious. “Why…” she mutters, then shouts, “ Kokichi, why the fuck did he say that to me? I mean, really? Thank you? You better explain yourself, you panta-guzzling-short-ass-fucker! Why the hell did Gonta seem happy to die!?”

 

Kaito doubletakes, “What!?”

 

“What did you do?” Himiko yells.

 

“Explain yourself. Now.”

 

Unbothered by the glare from the assassin, he nonchalantly answers, “Prooobably because… He couldn’t handle the killing game anymore?”

 

“Be serious!” Tsumugi demands.

 

Suddenly mournful, he mutters, “It’s because of the secret of the outside world.”

 

“Are you telling us Gonta found it?” Shuichi asks in astonishment. “He saw the outside world and that’s why-“

 

“No, he didn’t just find it, I knew where it was the whole time and I showed it to him.”

 

“Hey! That’s not fair!” Himiko complains, “Did Monokuma tell you? Were you working with him? Monokuma! You’re a cheater!”

 

“Huh? I never said that it was hidden. You could have asked and I would have gladly told you where it was! Although…” He brandishes his claws. “Kokichi, you promised me that you’d spice up the game.”

 

“Oh, I lied.”

 

All too cheerfully, Monokuma let’s the issue go. “I see, so that’s the case!”

 

“Forget all that!” Kiibo demands, “What did Gonta see?”

 

A sudden shift in aura off puts everyone as Kokichi’s hair shadows his eyes. “I can’t tell you.”

 

“What? Why? Tell us!” Tsumugi pleads.

 

Kokichi suddenly begins crying, “Because! If it caused Gonta to kill, it could cause another one! I’ll admit it, no lie, I was a coward who let Gonta die in place of me, but that doesn’t mean I want more people to die!” Kokichi’s wailing angers Miu to no end. Even when she’s about to die, he won’t show any sincerity. How hard is it for him to answer her?

 

“So we’re never going to know what he saw?” Tsumugi worriedly asks.

 

“Fuck no are we letting him off the hook,” Miu growls, “Answer the fucking question!”

 

“But…” Himiko argues weakly, “he said it might cause another killing...”

 

“So? I don’t care! I’m about to die! Don’t you guys care about that?”

 

“R-right,” Shuichi agrees, “and if it has to do with the outside world, we _have_ to know.” After his point, the others begin to probe the supreme leader for answers.

 

Miu amuses at the sight. Finally, they do something she wants. She sees Kokichi’s expression of sorrow warp ever so slightly to annoyance, breaking down his facade of kindness. She may be high on adrenaline, or simply going mad from the prospect of her life ending, but a laugh just barely escapes her.

 

He finally relents to their pestering. Any semblance of sorrow completely gone, he snaps, “ _God,_ shut up. If I don’t want to say anything I won’t.”

 

“Do you want to die?” Maki threatens.

 

Kaito growls, “Seriously man, if you don’t get serious...”

 

“I am serious.” As if their questions are stupid, he suggests, “Geez, if you all want to know so bad, just ask Gonta.”

 

Is… is he still mocking her? “What. The. Fuck!” she screams. Will she ever get any satisfaction within the five minutes she has to live? By this point, the only way she’ll be in any way happy is if she sees Kokichi die before her. “Monokuma! He fucked you right over, punish him or something!”

 

“Hmm,” he hums, “I can’t punish him because he’s not breaking any rules, but I do have something you might all enjoy!” Monokuma whips out a black laptop. With furious speed, he types. Miu glares at him. What could he possibly be doing? “Because there was no transfer of memories, I can easily make a copy of them, reset his avatar, aaaaand,” he types some more.

 

While everybody else is lost in his technical jargon, Miu sees right past it.

 

And pales.

 

“Tadah! Alter Ego Gonta!” Monokuma flips the computer around. What faced the survivors was a flash of green, then...

 

“Wha-” His voice possesses some distortion, but it’s undoubtedly his. At first, the digital ghost stares wide-eyed at the students. Most of them are shocked yet relieved beyond belief at the sight of him. However, Gonta’s expression dramatically shifts to convey an emotion they thought could never be possible on a cute avatar: pure despair. He screams, “WHAT IS THIS?! Gonta supposed to be dead! Why Gonta still here?” He does the equivalent of sobbing and knocks against the screen. It’s pitiful.

 

Panicked, Kaito asks, “W-what are you talking about, buddy? Aren’t you glad to see us? We’re glad to see you!“ Despite his attempt at consoling him, Gonta’s hysterics does not subside, and Miu is afraid she knows exactly why.

 

“Why is everyone still here?” Maybe not.

 

“What are you talking about?” Kiibo frantically asks the avatar.

 

Miu knows Gonta did what he did for a reason, and like hell if she won’t find out why before she gets dragged down there. “Everybody shut up! Gonta!” It seems Gonta is more willing to listen to her than anybody else because he makes an effort to stifle his sobs. It’s the oddest thing, considering what she did to him. A cold sweat runs down her neck at the possibilities as she shakily asks, “T-tell me, why did you do it?”

 

“You mean... ”

 

“Yes! Tried t-to... _kill_ me!”

 

The others had forgotten that fact and awkwardly curb their desire to ask their own questions, some of which would be insensitive to the inventor.

 

“...” Gonta remains silent until an exclamation point appears over his avatar to indicate he’s realized something. “So… Miu did not win? Gonta...so sorry.”

 

… What? Miu falls silent as the barrage of questions torrent past her to her victim.

 

“Gonta! Why would you want her to win? She killed you!” Himiko shrieks.

 

“You had valuable information, and yet you want it all to go to waste by letting the killer win.” Maki interrogates him, “Is this a part of your own motive?”

 

“Gonta can’t tell you that!” the avatar yells.

 

Kiibo asks, “Why not?”

 

“....”

 

Maki glares daggers at the computer as if she can kill the ghost with just her stare. “Answer us.”

 

“...”

 

Shuichi pleads, “Gonta, can you tell us why did you want to die? And why you wanted.... Miu to win?” His classmates silence themselves in anticipation for his answer.

 

“...Because…” at that, the students put their full attention to him, relieved beyond description that at the very least they’ll know what their friends last thoughts were. “Is easier... to die.”

 

“Wha… what?!” Kaito nearly falls over. He never expected that another one of his classmates would have those thoughts, not since the second trial, but the implication he wants _all_ of them to die is unthinkable to him.

 

“What. Was. Your. Motive.” Maki demands again. It seems Gonta has decided to fall silent again, because her questions is not being met with an answer, so she decides to switch to a target that has a life to lose. “Kokichi. Explain. Now.”

 

“Explain what?”

 

Kiibo snaps, “Obviously why you orchestrated their deaths! How did you convince Gonta to do this?”

 

“I already told you guys to just ask Gonta. Well, it doesn’t matter, since it didn’t work the way I wanted. Looks like you failed, Gonta. If only you killed Miu, then this wouldn’t have happened.”

 

The avatar cries again, “Gonta so sorry… he failed Kokichi, and everybody, because he was a coward!”

 

Miu can’t stand hearing one of the people responsible for her doom sob and ignore her questions as if he doesn’t owe her an explanation. “Why is it such a good thing for us to die?! For _me_ to die?!”

 

“M-miu…” the ghost whispers.

 

“Please, at least give me the satisfaction of knowing before I fucking die!”

 

“Sorry, Gonta can’t tell Miu what he saw.” Miu nearly blows up again, but then he says, “It was… despair.”

 

“Despair?” Shuichi repeats.

 

“Despair!” Monokuma cheers. “And that is why, my dear students, it’s time for punishment!”

 

“W-w-wait!” Miu screams, “I’m not done here!” She needs to know, more than anybody else here. Doesn’t she at least deserve this?

 

“None of us are ready!” Kiibo adds, “We have to know why this had to happen!”

 

“Hey, you’re the ones who voted, now you’ll be getting what you asked for,” the headmaster scolds. Regardless of his students’ desperate pleas, he happily announces, “I’ve prepared a very special punishment for the ultimate inventor, Miu Iruma! Iiiiiiiit’s punishment time!” The familiar red button appears as the harbinger of the condemned girl’s doom; the mallet seals her fate.


End file.
